Millard edward theodore



M. E. THEODORE.

TORPEDO GUARD 0H SHIELD. APPLICATION HLED APR.I9.1918.

1,303,522. Patented May13,1919.

INVENTOH A TTORNEY.

ms NORFHS FBIEN: L0,, PHOTOLI .WASHINGION. or

PATENT onnion.

MILLARD EDWARD rHEoDonn, on NEW YORK, n. Y.

. TonrnDo GUARD on SHIELD.

Applicationfiled April 19, 1918. Seria1 I il"o.229,549.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILLARD E. TI-IEO- noun, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, county of Manhattan, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Torpedo Guards or Shields, of which the following is a specification.

The device has for its purpose the protec tion of the ship against shelling and for that purpose,the outstanding barriers are arranged and constructed in such a manner as to receive the shells and allow them to explode'at a distance from the ship sufficiently great to make them ineffectlve as destructive agents.

A further object of the invention is to provide a means of the character described and for the purposes set forth which means can be readily repaired should it be damaged.

The construction and operation of my device will be fully set forth as the specification progresses. j

The following-is what Iconsider a good means of carrying out my invention and the accompanying drawing should be re ferred to for; a complete understanding of the specification which follows:

In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows in side elevation the dia gram of a ship upon which my guard is secured.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the guard.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the guard and the side of the ship to which it is attached.

Fig. 4 a small detail of an elevation. This detail is an end elevation.

Fig. 5 shows a detail in side elevation.

Similar reference characters indicate like parts in all the figures where they appear.

The ship to which my device is attached may be of any ordinary construction, shape or size, and as it is not necessary to modify the construction of the ship, I will indicate by the reference character 1 the ship shown in diagram in Fig. 1, allowing the character 1 to indicate the 'whole ship.

Arranged adjacent to the sides of the ship are plates 2 extending the full length of the sides and although in the drawing I have illustrated only one plate and the parts sup porting it and adjacent thereto, it will be Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 13, 1919.

understood that all of the parts described are duplicated at the other side of the ship.

The plate 2 which maybe of armor or other suitable materialextends the full length of theshipand projects slightly beyond each end;thereof, and this plate Qmay be made up of a series of sections secured together in such a manner as to produce one integral unit. l j The lower end of the plate 2 is secured to the ship by the means of ahinged block 3 and I provide a series of these blocks probably spaced 10 or 20 feet apart. The plate 2 extends downward from the ship at an angle and this angle may be determined by the conditions or requirements. Probably a plate arranged at an angle of approximately 50 degrees Will be foundmost serviceable.

I-Iighup on the plate and spaced apart are p, a plurality of guides 4 and engaged in or upon these guides is a plunger 5. A cylinder 6 which may extend through the side of the ship 1 contains a spring 7 and at the inner end of the cylinder 6 I provide an air outlet 8 controlled by a valve 9. Then the plateQ is moved inward its movement will be controlled by the spring 7 and by the discharge of air past the valve 9. The spring 7 may be relatively weak, intended merely to urge the plunger 5 outward. The discharge of air may from'time to time be regulated so that the pressure required to move the plate 2 backward may be approximately the same regardless ofthe resistance to this movement which may result from corrosion or from the fouling of the parts.

Supported upon the plate 2 are a plurality of guides and these guides are shown in end elevation at 10, 11,12, 13 and 14 in Fig. 2. And between each pair of guides is a movable plate indicated at 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 in Fig. 2.

These plates 15 to 20 inclusive, are movabl vertically in their respective guides, and I may provide flexible members 21-21 connecting each plate with its next adjacent plate for a purpose that shall appear later. A series of rollers 2222 arranged upon the top of the plate receivethe flexible members 21.2l and as these flexible members are engaged to adjacent plates, the operation will be as follows: When the plate 17 is moved downward the plates 16 and 18 will be elevated and when the force which causes 10 the plate 17 to move downward is no longer eflective, the plates 16 and 18 will return the plate 17 to its normal condition.

In Fig. 4, I show a back plate 23 provided with a channel 24. This back plate 28 is similar to the plate 2 though provided witha plurality ofchannels 24:. One channel is at about midwidth of the movable plates. The smaller detail in Fig. 5 shows this construction: and in-this detail, a small portion of the plate 23 is shown having two channels 24 and 25, and only two movable plates 26 and 27 are indicated-in this detail. These platesare connected-by a flexible member 28-passing' over the-rollers 29 and 30 andit is my intention in this construction-that thev plates'along the side of the boat should be similarly connected. in pairs, each one of" a pair serving as a balancing or returning member fior the other plate of the pair. I

From the foregoing description, it is thought that the operation of my device will be fully understood. However,I will briefly describe. the. operation referrinov to the parts generally by their reference claracters A boat equipped with my. completed device which consists of a pair of plates 2, one arranged at each side of the boat and all ofthe other partssupported and adjacent thereto, isthe subject of attack by submarine or other enemy craft, and a torpedo discharged at this boat will strike one of the plates arrangedia-long the side and the force of the impact of the torpedo will be lessened; at. the sametime, the angular arrangement of the entire guardwillpause the plate which receives theblow to move downward and when the force of the blow has been spent, the plate struck will again return to its normal position.-

It will be noted that the exposed surface of the guides 10 to 14 inclusive is tapered. This will tend to deflect a torpedo from the stationary portion of my device.

The plate 2. or the guard proper may be made in a series ofsections if desired as indicated by the lines 31 and 32,: but I prefer the whole as shown and=described.

Having. carefully and fully described my invention, what I claimand desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A torpedo guard having a pivoted plate and aplurality of vertically movable plates thereon the alternate plates being connected together to move oppositely in unison.

2. A torpedo guard. having a plate hingedly connectedto th side of a ship and a plurality of vertically movable plates thereon guides for said plates and means for returning said vertically movable plates to normal'position after each movement.

3. A torpedo guard consisting of. a plate extending along the side of a ship, a plurality of hinges securing said plate. to said ship, a plurality of pistons and cylinders between said plate and said ship and adapted to yieldingly resist thesmovementof said plate toward the side of the ship, a plurality of guides upon said plate and a plurality of movable plates in said guides and flexible means connecting said plates for retaining said plates in said guides.

Signed at New York city, in the county and State of New York, this 80th day of March, 1918.

MILLARD EDWARD THEODORE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

